March 6, 2013 Uluru & Kata Tjuta

After 4 hours of sleep we got up for the drive to The Olgas to view the sunrise. The natives call it Kata Tjuta, but most know it as The Olgas. Up at 4:00 in the morning we drove to the Kata Tjuta Dune viewing site. After a short hike in the dark (we had a flashlight), we came upon the raised platforms. One other couple was already there. We picked our spot and waited for the sunrise. We had brought muffins and strawberries for our breakfast picnic. This time the sunrise was over Ayers Rock and changing the colors of The Olgas. Beautiful!

 

We then drove to The Valley of the Winds and did a hike there. As the name implies it was windy, but felt good. I had been saying how cool it would be to see a kangaroo in the wild, when all of a sudden one goes hopping along the lower area of Kata Jtuta. I shout out Roo Roo…. We did get some photos of him. If you can watch a kangaroo hop along without a huge silly grin on your face, well I suspect there is no hope for you! I couldn’t stop smiling!



We then drove to the Walpa Gorge for our next hike. A different perspective walking between the walls. We did see one of the huge lizards which is the 2^nd largest there is. (I can’t remember the name as I write this, but I think it was a Goanna) We saw several other types as well.

 a few flies here too



We then drove to the Culture Center to get some cold drinks and low and behold they were selling hat nets! Wished we had seen those sooner. We bought a couple just in case we may need them in other areas on our voyage.

Then, we went back to Yulara and grabbed some lunch at the Geckos Café. Had more Emu and kangaroo pizza with an appetizer of garlic crisps. Did some shopping and walked about the area. They had a nice visitor’s center with a museum of their history and their flora and fauna.



It was time to drive to the airport for our flight. It was almost an hour late taking off, but the pilot made up the time in the air. It was a scenic flight (when I wasn’t sleeping). As we approached Cairns the terrain changed from the red sandstone and scrub to lush and tropical with great views of the ocean. We grabbed the local transportation shuttle to Bay Village Tropical Retreat. We had very nice hotels in Sydney and Ayers Rock, but this one was a disappointment. Would not stay there again. It was clean, but quite basic. The shower was the worst! The A/C was impossible to control.

 It looks much nicer than it really was...



We did give back ½ hour of the 1 and ½ hour a time change so now we matched the ship. (which changed time 1 hour while we were gone)